These Six Months
by Melainy
Summary: *Update: Chapter 2* My attempt at constructing the happenings between Disc 1 and Disc 2. Contains end of Disc 1 spoilers. Implied and eventual DxR with a twist! :D
1. Aftermath

**Disclaimer: **I do not own The Last Remnant, nor have I completed it yet. But I am enjoying it muchly. Good times!

**Author's Note:** Wow. This is my first story in a very long time! But for some reason this game has inspired me to write and mostly due to its somewhat gaping plotholes. This is an idea that got into my head and won't leave so is more a storage function for my creative process. It will attempt to piece together what happened between Disc 1 and Disc 2. I have absolutely no idea how it will turn out, but rest assured there will be a little bit of RushXDavid because no TLR story should be without it :P

**WARNING:** Contains end of Disc 1 (360 owners) spoilers. Rated for language and various scenes of male "bonding".

* * *

**THESE SIX MONTHS**

-Aftermath-

* * *

"_This…is the power of Marion's Blessing?"_

His eyes were hurting, yet he stared, unblinking at the fallen city. He felt it was his duty to honour the memory of its existence before the piercing smog finally cleared to reveal nothing but ash, dust and flame.

Nagapur...its beautiful remnant, Gwayn...it wasn't possible...

Gently, David Nassau felt a hand on his shoulder. His unbroken stare was halted as he looked to inspect who could have interrupted his thoughts.

Torgal, as always, towered above him - his stern, yet kind face loyally instructing him in the ways of ruling a country for as long as David could remember. Today, however, his face looked tired, his eyes were glazed and he spoke with a seriousness that chilled David to the bone.

"We must seek out survivors," the Sovani told him solidly, but gently. David forced himself to blink with sheer muscular effort before taking a deep breath, calling upon his lessons in authority to fight against any emotion that was rigorously cascading through his frame.

"Of course," he said, before giving the order. "Emmy, take your team and search the west side. If anything looks dangerous retreat immediately. Take Vivication Herbs. Blocter, you take the east. Watch out for falling debris. Pagus, go with Blocter – he will need your healing skills. Torgal, you take the north. I'll take my team south. We'll rendezvous here in about..."

"What about Irina?"

The youthful voice managed to rise above David's commanding tones with difficulty, but it always penetrated even the loudest of conversations. David looked across at Rush, who was still cradling his exhausted sister, traces of Marion's Blessing still apparent on her skin. Rush's eyes were pleading with him – an expression uncommon on his handsome features.

They regarded each other a moment longer before David sighed, nodding to Torgal, who understood immediately.

"The Marquis' Division! You have your orders! The rest of you, collect up some healing herbs and move out!"

Several shouts of "Yes sir!" were heard before a scurry of movement scattered the ground beneath the soldiers, creating yet more debris. David forced a small smile and briefly acknowledged his generals before moving across to his most recent commander, who looked unusually frail.

"She'll be all right, Rush," he said, kneeling down beside him. "She's just fatigued."

Rush nodded uncertainly.

"I...I had no idea she could..."

"I know," David nodded, placing a hand on Rush's shoulder. "But then we had no idea of what lay within you either." He laughed a little, trying to force this boy's natural enthusiasm back into him. "You know, you almost gave me a heart attack when you threw yourself at The Conqueror..."

"How can you just...act like nothing's happened?" Rush interrupted, a little harshly. "Why aren't we doing anything?!" Making sure Irina was comfortable he stood up, shaking David's hand off his shoulder. "It's The Conqueror that led to all this, not Irina! He could still be alive! We have to go after him before something like this happens again!" And he threw an arm in the direction of the massacre that had just taken place.

"Rush, I'm perfectly aware of what happened," David assured him, mentally kicking himself for not predicting this sort of behaviour and raising himself so he was looking directly at him. "But we have no idea what is going on here and most of all we are in the middle of an active battlefield. We can't just run headfirst into a fight we can't win..."

Even as he spoke the words they sounded too official, too resolute. He was trying desperately hard to stop his voice from shaking. There was something about Rush's volatile nature that made something inside him want to join him on his illogical path.

Rush looked as if he was going to say something, but looked torn between running off on his own once again and leaving the side of Irina. He sighed, ran a hand through his hair and breathed a little.

"Sorry..." he said, "I just...this is just unreal..."

"Try to focus, Rush," David instructed, tentatively placing two hands on his shoulders. "Irina is safe and I will make sure that she receives the greatest of care once we return to Athlum, however..."

He paused a moment. Rush had looked up at him. He was staring into those dark brown eyes slightly shadowed by that mysterious jet-black hair that shaped his features. Not for the first time, David was made fully aware of how close together they were.

"However," he swallowed. "There could be people in a far worse situation than your sister. They need our help, Rush. We need you. I...need you."

David watched the boy study his expression, which he made sure was completely neutral. Rush glanced down at Irina for a moment.

"Someone needs to stay with her..."

"I'll call back some members of my squad. Can you spare any of yours?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Good." David smiled at Rush and took his hands away, wondering if the heat in his face was showing at all. He could always blame the battle. "We'll join unions and head south." He was perfectly aware he was trying to rebuild the centre of authority that always broke down whenever he and Rush were together, and he was certain Rush was too, but he had to be a voice of power or else who else would? He turned sharply, his mind firmly back on the task at hand.

"Dave?"

David stopped and turned back around.

"Yes Rush?"

"I think I'm going to stay with her...until your group arrives..."

David smiled inwardly. Who was he to try and give Rush an order?

"That's fine," he said. "I'll send them as quickly as I can."

And with that, he collected his sword and began heading south. He turned back only once to see the boy sit quietly by Irina and hold his head in his hands.

* * *


	2. Uncertain Times

**Disclaimer: **I do not own The Last Remnant. However, I do own a copy of the game which I have not played for three days because I've been too busy writing fan...doing university work. Yes.

**Author's Note:** If things are seemingly moving along very quickly you have to remember that these characters have been together for the entirity of Disc 1 and that was a hell of a lot of side quests in which to gauge a personality. I've tried to keep the feel of that a bit but still introduce the characters to the obviously altered Last Remnant world of my brain. This chapter is also rather a lot longer than the last. This is because I don't know when to stop. Don't panic though - I am going somewhere with this. It's all relevant, trust me *crosses fingers*

**Warning:** Contains end of Disc 1 spoilers from this hot second onward. Rated for language and David and Rush's completely un-ignorable homosexual tension.

* * *

**THESE SIX MONTHS**

-Uncertain Times-

* * *

Emmy Honeywell, daughter of the late Emma Honeywell, general of Athlum and recently made assistant medic to Pagus had had enough.

"Believe it or not, Rush Sykes," she said for quite possibly the billionth time that day, "she is still fine. Sound asleep, which is more than I can say for you."

"Emmy, can't I at least sit with her a little longer?"

"For heaven's sakes, Rush!" Emmy sighed, marching along the corridor, putting a hand to her head in a bid to sooth her growing headache. "You've been in and out of there all bloody day – the last thing Irina would want is somebody waking her up!"

"I just want to be there when she DOES wake up!"

Emmy stopped suddenly, making Rush crash into her back. She spun around and grumbled at him.

"I keep telling you – YOU are the first person anybody is ever going to call when she does, so for my sanity and your own would you please just GO TO BED!"

If she had not been so tired, frustrated and in pain, Emmy probably would have been the first to point out that her angry outbursts were probably a genetic trait. Her mother had had a very fine line, but when anybody crossed it they were in a large amount of danger. She would have to have a word with Rush's mother, Emmy decided. Clearly the boy didn't know the meaning of the word "no" even though he was practically an adult already. He was glaring at her in a very confrontational way, as if waiting for her to give in. Adult indeed.

"What's all this noise?" came a deep, Sovani voice as Torgal approached the two calmly.

"Thank the Remnants!" Emmy threw her hands up in praise. "Would you kindly REMOVE him from my sight before my head explodes?"

Torgal looked at Emmy, then Rush, then back at Emmy again, who was in the process of trudging off to her room. He folded both sets of arms in thought.

"I haven't seen her this mad in a long time..." he said, addressing Rush. "What did you do?"

Rush, suddenly aware that the battle had been lost, sighed in exasperation.

"I wanted to be there when Irina woke up!" he tried to convince the taller being. "Is that too much to ask?"

"Rush," Torgal laughed, "I think you're a lot more tired then you think you are."

Rush glared at him.

"I could stay up all night if I wanted to."

"Go to bed, Rush," Torgal told him, walking towards the opposite end of the corridor in such a way as Rush could not follow him. "I have a funny feeling tomorrow is going to be a long day."

Rush stared after him until he had disappeared before screaming at the top of his lungs and punching a fist into the wall.

_"How dare they...!" _he found himself thinking. After all this time, in his quest to save Irina, in her time of need they were actually preventing him from seeing her! It was outrageous!

But...he knew when to quit. He was assured he would be told and Emmy had never lied to him so far. This was so annoying...but in his deepest recesses he knew they were being "sensible" and "mature" – two qualities he would probably always lack. Plus if Irina were in the same situation she would probably quietly go to bed and be eternally optimistic of his recovery.

Great. Now he felt even worse.

Taking a deep breath, he gently removed his hand from the wall, taking a little of the plastering out with it. Nobody would notice. As he did so, his eyes fell on the Talisman that casually hung around his neck. At this moment it time it felt more like a noose.

What the hell had happened? Little over a few hours ago he had been inches away from unleashing his power at The Conqueror – which still hadn't been enough – before Irina had physically gained control of Gawyn and destroyed a whole city in order to save his life...

_"No, it wasn't Irina's fault..." _he kept telling himself over and over again. It was a Collapse – with Hermeian deceased Gawyn wasn't bound anymore. Plus The Conqueror instantly trying to bind it afterward hadn't helped. It was funny how they couldn't find his body. Funny and terrifying.

And then the world went dark.

"Guess who? Ha ha ha!" came the loud, rumbling voice of a Yama. After the initial shock of feeling a pair of enormous hands over his face Rush relaxed and sighed.

"Blocter, I'll never understand how you manage to keep sneaking up on me like that," he observed, trying to wrestle him away. Blocter just laughed again and gripped Rush into a bear hug before swinging him around nauseatingly.

"You gotta be more alert, man!" the Yama laughed, placing Rush gently down on the floor after he flatly protested to being thrown around like a doll. "I'm more nimble footed than you think!"

"No, I know exactly how nimble footed you are," said Rush, "I've experienced it way too many times." He wasn't really in the mood for Blocter's games right now, despite having formed a strong friendship with the Yama over the time they had known each other. Not as strong as, say, his friendship with David, but the two seem to share a kindred spirit and Blocter was always ready to share a prank or two if Rush so happened to be in the mood.

"MAN that was SO awesome today when you went for The Conqueror like that!" Blocter commented loudly. "I was so sure you were gonna beat him!"

Blocter's sheer gusto was enough to let a small smile creep up on Rush's face. He half expected this was Torgal's doing, bringing him to meet him like this. Sighing, knowing he couldn't possibly win now, he reluctantly gave in.

"I'm going to bed, Blocter," he said, working his footsteps in the direction of his room.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired too," Blocter said following him, "but man, you should have seen yourself! You were all like "I have to win this FIGHT!" and then you were like woosh! Bam! With that sword! Honestly, that was like the coolest thing I have ever seen!"

"Uh...thanks..."

"Hey man, you okay? I know – Warrior's Honor, you and me, blow off some steam a little, huh?"

"Blocter...it's two in the morning..."

"Oh...yeah..."

There was an awkward silence, one that didn't usually come easily to either of them. They plodded along the corridors in the direction of Rush's bedroom, their footsteps echoing on the old but considerably well-preserved castle.

"Hey...try not to worry too much about Irina," Blocter suddenly said as if in their period of quietness he had been reading the Mitra's mind. "She's just sleeping. That bubble thing you made saved all our lives today."

Rush instinctively clutched the Talisman in his hand, his body suddenly feeling very heavy.

"Irina's power...it's so much greater than mine..." he spoke whatever came into his head. "I had no clue she could do those things...she stopped a Collapse, Blocter."

"Oh, is that what happened?" the Yama nodded, who was not exactly a big thinker. "The Young Master told us all to get some sleep and there'll be a debrief tomorrow." Blocter's step faltered slightly. "He hasn't said anything to you, has he?"

Rush looked up at him, quizzically.

"Like what?"

"I dunno..." Blocter sighed. "In our line of work we see destruction and death all the time. It's like part of our job description. But when he saw Gawyn...I'm just worried is all. He's under a lot of pressure."

"He hasn't said anything specifically..." Rush said and then realised that he had been so concerned for his sister all day he hadn't really been able to concentrate on anything else. It dawned on him that if David had wanted to confide in him he hadn't exactly given him an opportunity.

"He tries to do everything by himself – it's his biggest fault really," Blocter continued, casually throwing his arms up and stretching. "It's like a mutual respect but he knows he's the one that's gotta carry the burden. Oh he can do it, no question but...it's gotta be hard emotionally, you know?"

Rush nodded and then realised he actually didn't know. In the wake of all the destruction he had completely gone to pieces over Irina while David had organised an entire search mission while communicating with Celapaleis and most of the other Lords who were demanding to know what was going on. He honestly didn't envy David's position at all, but the conversation about it wasn't making him feel any better.

The pair stopped as they reached the door to Rush's room. Saying goodnight to his friend, Rush entered solemnly, closing the door shut and leaning against it, not exactly deep in thought, more deep in emotion.

He wandered into bed, not bothering to even switch a light on in order to find his way there. He lay on his back, feeling the weight of the day consume him.

"How the hell do you do it, Dave?" he whispered aloud. "How do you...?"

The energy to speak was lost, and Rush Sykes drifted off into the deepest sleep of his life.

-*-

"Quite honestly," David said slowly in order to make the point as clear as possible. "We were lucky that only half of Nagapur was destroyed. Gawyn could quite possibly have wiped out half the continent."

"Whether or not Gawyn Collapsed or was controlled or attacked on its own is irrelevant," Pagus piped up. "The point is that no other state can learn of Irina's power. Were that to happen we would just see another repeat of Hermeian's betrayal."

"Agreed," David nodded. "It would be wise to keep her here in Athlum then."

"How are we to convince the Lords of how we survived the blast?" Emmy asked, honestly concerned. "We can't just assume they're going to believe us when we say we were just in the right place at the right time."

"The Conqueror's effects were felt worldwide," David assured him. "I doubt many in Nagapur were concerned with how we got there. It is a threatening question, one that shouldn't be asked when the people are already war-fatigued."

"Even so," Torgal interrupted. "The people are going to want answers. There is brewing concern over the safety of Remnants."

"Well," David sighed, leaning back in his chair, "we shouldn't have anything to worry about here. Athlum doesn't have one. At least not one the public can see."

Torgal narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Lord David, it would be unwise to blame this incident on yourself."

David looked at him and sighed. Torgal was always the one that managed to see right through him.

The four generals were sat with him in the briefing room of Athlum castle and had been for the past hour or so. There had obviously been a lot to discuss and with a congress meeting scheduled for two days time it was important to keep his generals up to date with the proceedings, especially considering most of the current efforts involved helping those in Nagapur and especially Celapeleis who were suffering from food and water shortages. Things like that had to be sorted out before anything else. The Lords, having no current leader, had turned to the acting Head of Congress, the Duke of Ghor, for the immediate operations but it was more a mutual agreement between all of them, thankfully for David who was admittedly still weary from the events of yesterday.

"All right," he said, rising from his chair, "let's have a break. We'll meet back here in an hour."

"Yes my Lord," the group said in unison before rising themselves, David giving them the nod that they were dismissed. He watched them go before a thought occurred to him.

"Pagus?"

The Qsiti, ears pricking up slightly, obediently approached the Marquis.

"Yes, my Lord?"

"I thought it inappropriate to ask in the meeting but...how is she?"

"She is..." Pagus paused, obviously trying to find the right words and failing miserably. "Still asleep." He shrugged. "There is nothing more I can do for her. It appears Marion's Blessing takes a lot out of one."

David sighed.

"I had hoped she may be able to enlighten us as to what she physically did to Gawyn yesterday..."

"I would assume," Pagus said in a wise tone, "that she knows as much about her power as we do. Her mother is with her currently so you may speak to her, but Marion's Blessing is a mystery to even those who carry it. Controlling Remnants is an unpredictable experience as you yourself have observed."

A pang shot through David's stomach. He ignored it. Pagus had a way of being extraordinarily blunt sometimes.

"Would you let me know when she wakes up?" he asked, deliberately reverting the subject back to where it began. Pagus grinned.

"You will be the second to know," he stated. "I fear the wrath of young Rush if I fail to tell him first."

"Rush..." David spoke the boy's name, having completely forgotten about him. "Where is he? It would be wise for him to attend this meeting."

"He is busying himself in the sparring arena," Pagus told the Marquis, leisurely. "He thought it best to, "blow off some steam", or words to that effect."

David sighed. He should have known that given the current situation with his sister Rush would want to do anything except sit still.

"I'll go and see how he's doing," David told his general, making his way out of the room.

"Lord David, if I may offer some advice?" Pagus said, falling into step with David.

"Pagus, your advice is always worth heeding," David smiled down at his small, but powerful friend. One didn't take the words of somebody who had lived for hundreds of years and cast them to the wind.

"It is likely that, like the rest of us, Rush did not get much sleep last night," Pagus told him grimly. "If I were you I would keep your guard up..."

David laughed.

"Don't worry," he assured the Qsiti, "if worst comes to worst there's always the Gae Bolg!"

-*-

"Ugh, only an hour? That's nowhere near enough time to get to the pub and back!"

Emmy stifled a laugh.

"A shame. I could use a drink."

"There is a national crisis," Torgal exclaimed, "and all you two can think about is getting drunk?"

"Not _drunk_ drunk," Emmy corrected, laughing. "Just a little tipple to calm our nerves, eh Blocter?"

"Yeah Torgal!" Blocter let out a humungous Yama laugh and knocked the Sovani on the shoulder. "You're coming tonight right? Thought we'd try and drown our sorrows a little!"

Torgal couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Emmy...you actually agree with this brute?"

"Come on Torgal, we've all been through a worse situation than this," Emmy protested. "We might not get another opportunity to relax in the next few months. The Conqueror is gone, we saved Irina – let's let our hair down for goodness sake!"

"I don't _have_ any hair..."

"Oh all right, in a manner of speaking then!" Emmy laughed, Blocter along with her as the group made their way across the gardens. It was a shimmering sunny afternoon and they were taking full advantage of the break in the morning's serious discussions.

"And I assume Lord David knows about this?" Torgal insisted in his opposition to these two going out partying when the situation could not have been further away from a cheerful atmosphere and, not entirely surprisingly, the laughter of Blocter and Emmy subsided after this predictable question.

"Uh well..." Blocter rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly, "the Young Master's got a lot on his plate right now. We don't want to worry him any further."

"Exactly," Emmy said, with rather a larger amount of confidence, taking a seat on a nearby fountain, "and it's not as if we're prisoners here. I'm sure if we asked he'd say yes."

"So you have no problem with me telling him about your little excursion then?" Torgal grinned at the duo, who were acting like a couple of teenagers. They were stunned into silence. Torgal sighed, mutedly. "You treat him unfairly."

"No we don't," Emmy scolded. "It can't be helped that he is a Lord."

"Yeah man, don't be too hard on us," Blocter continued, "it's mainly for morale, you know? Searching out the wounded and dead is tough on the ol' heart. A tonne of our troupes are gonna be there, strictly at ease, you know?"

Torgal opened his mouth to speak but decided it was useless and closed it again. Emmy saw this and smirked.

"Admit it, you're a little tempted."

"No," Torgal answered quickly. "Lord David needs somebody to take care of him..."

"Lord David needs nobody taking care of him any more," Emmy said, dangling her hand in the water. "That was evident by the way he handled my mother's death. He...he handled it better than I did."

She spoke the last sentence quietly, as if drawing on old feelings and emotions that only arose unless she could physically cement them into her frame and leave them there to dwell, but not completely evaporate.

It hadn't been that long ago since Emma's passing, Torgal realised. With all the commotion The Conqueror had caused it was difficult to recollect that Emmy had only been in their party for a short amount of time, shorter than Rush, in all fairness. The image of her mother was so resplendent on her, however, that Torgal had called her by "Emma" for a large part of their original meeting. They all missed Emma greatly, but probably none more so than Emmy.

"I wonder," Torgal said, a little harshly, "I wonder what Emma would have thought of leaving Lord David at a time like this."

She glared at him through squinted eyes, standing up so she was at her full height, and even though she was shorter than the Sovani, she still looked more powerful in comparison.

"Don't you dare talk as if you were my mother," she hissed. "I firmly believe that in her passing there has been a change in Lord David, a change that needs to happen. He has been fighting for independence for a long time, not just for Athlum, but for himself!"

She spat her last words in Torgal's face before marching away towards the castle. If Torgal could have found the words to reply, he would have said them. Instead he was left watching a very uncomfortable looking Blocter, who looked at a loss as to whether follow Torgal or Emmy.

"Uh," he said, dumbly, "I'd better go calm her down..."

He trod carefully past Torgal before running off calling Emmy's name.

Torgal stared out over the fountain she had been sitting at. Emmy had certainly been hormonal lately, he noticed. Perhaps she wasn't cut out to be a general after all. He would have to mention this to Lord David.

Silently, he left the peace of the fountain, following his companions at a steady pace.

-*-

Exactly as Pagus had told him, David found Rush face-to-face with a fierce looking dummy opponent, at whom he was slashing at with a simple broadsword. Their more powerful weapons had been sent to the blacksmith's to be repaired.

Upon entering, Rush was so engrossed in the fake battle that he didn't register David's presence at all. David quietly closed the door behind him and watched the boy a moment, not wanting to disturb his battle focus. He leant against the wall and folded his arms, watching Rush's nimble movements as he accurately predicted where and when the mechanical fighter would hit, block, leave an opening or parry his incoming attacks. Rush was sweating and breathing hard – he had clearly been at this for some time. Smiling, David casually moved across the room and quietly picked up another of the broadswords from a container. Then, like a thief, he moved across the room staying well away from Rush's line of sight. Rush was still fully engrossed in battle – perfect. Aligning himself flawlessly, he ran a few steps forward and lunged at Rush's back.

Rush turned, raised his sword in the air and blocked David's attack with incredibly accuracy. He laughed at his attacker.

"Saw you coming a mile off!" he taunted, flicking David's sword away but not enough to knock it out of his hands.

"Damn," David teased, "I thought I might have had you that time!" He came at Rush again, this time with a little more aggression. They sparred away from dummy, and into the centre of the arena, which gave them a little more room to manoeuvre. David gave no allowances for Rush's tiredness and attacked him ferociously, Rush giving back as good as he got.

A well-timed attack from David forced Rush to roll away for a second, falling onto one knee and panting, but grinning wildly. David raised his sword high and laughed.

"Had enough yet?" he mocked.

"Not a chance!" Rush yelled, throwing himself back into the battle with a cry, matching David's strength exactly so the force of the attack ricocheted in both their arms, sending them springing backwards. They came at each other again instantly, swords slashing together sending sparks as metal hit metal. They laughed as they fought, each getting a few chances before narrowly being parried, or the other dodging or blocking. Eventually, however, David realised that despite the amusement of sparring with Rush, he didn't have all the time in the world.

He brought himself and Rush into a deadlock, both their swords locked together so they were merely pushing against each other. They were close, so close that their eyes were also deadlocked, tearing into each other through their weapons. David found himself smirking.

"You're good, Rush," he said, "but I'm afraid you've lost."

"Oh yeah?" Rush answered, still confident nonetheless. "Why's that?"

David smiled and, with a final glare at Rush, he spun, catching Rush completely off guard, grabbed him at the chest and thrust his sword against his neck.

"Because I'm just better." He whispered in Rush's ear.

Rush struggled against him for a moment before breathing a sigh and dropping his weapon to the floor. David laughed in triumph as Rush fell to all fours, gasping for air.

"Cheat!" Rush said, through breaths of laughter and fatigue, "I almost had you there!"

David cackled and threw his weapon in the air, catching it on the way down.

"I can admit when I had the advantage," he sheathed the sword and offered Rush a hand to his feet. "You fought well."

Rush laughed, accepting David's help as he pulled him to his feet.

"I can't believe I didn't see that coming!" he mused. "I was so sure I knew what you were gonna do!"

"Never be sure of an opponent," David instructed him. "Your foe is always unpredictable in every way."

"I know but..." Rush gave him a look, still doubled over in his lack of breath, "you're no ordinary opponent."

David knew what Rush meant. That didn't stop him from prolonging the silence between them as Rush slowly regained his composure. He stared at him in an odd sort of way as Rush leant to pick up his sword, brandishing it once more.

"Ready for round two?" he threatened the Marquis. David laughed again, perfectly willing to let Rush keep practicing with him if it weren't for other pressing matters.

"You know I would love to retain my title," he told his friend. "But I'm due back at a meeting."

"Oh, cool," Rush said, understanding, but he was never one to leave disappointment out of the tone of his voice. "What about?"

"Oh just...everything," David sighed, retreating back to where he had obtained his sword from. "Nagapur, Gawyn, the Remnants, the Lords...you're more than welcome to come, but Irina should be your top priority after all."

He placed the sword back in its small basket with its identical brothers and sisters. There were times, he thought, that he wished he could have other priorities in life, but this is the task he had been presented with and he was going to fulfil it to the best of ability...but there was no need to force Rush into it. He had saved his sister – his loyalty to him was completely voluntary...regardless of how grateful David was for his company.

"Dave?" Rush asked having followed the Marquis to the door. "Did you...want to talk about anything?"

David paused in his exit from the room.

"What?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"I dunno," Rush shrugged, "you just look kinda run down."

"So do you."

"I know but..." Rush paused, thinking. His arms were folded. "I was thinking that maybe you need a break."

David blinked.

"A break?"

"Yeah."

David shook his head in confusion and amusement.

"That's a very nice offer, Rush," he said, "but this _was_ my break."

"No," Rush elaborated, taking a few steps closer to his friend, "I mean like a real break. Take your mind off things for a change. Hell, I could use one and the congress meeting isn't for a couple of days so..."

"Rush..." David started to tell him in the gentlest way possible that "taking a break" was hardly an option when his country and the state of the entire world was currently resting on his shoulders...but something in Rush's eyes told him he knew all this already and was physically trying to get him to rebel against his entire upbringing. David had to admit, he was curious.

"What are you suggesting?" he probed, taking care not to sound too interested in case he had to turn Rush down. Rush's smile, however, almost exploded off his face as he ran right up to the Marquis.

"Warrior's Honor – you and me, just a couple of hours tonight. A few drinks and we come back. That's it. Nothing big, just an excuse to get out of here for a few hours. It's not gonna cause any riots, right?"

"Right okay, stop there," David laughed, finding it difficult to resist Rush's eagerness. "You want me to go to the pub with you?"

"Yeah! Why not?!"

David's head fell into his hands.

"Rush! I'm the Marquis of Athlum!" he laughed out loud, unable to contain himself. The idea was absurd – one he would never have considered in a million years.

Rush, not finding this the least bit funny, threw his hands onto David's shoulders and looked at him austerely.

"You are also nineteen years old!" he told David. "And you're my best friend by the way!"

"Rush!" David wiped a tear from his eye before matching Rush's pose in putting his hands on his shoulders. "I'm flattered, really, but it's impossible. What if somebody recognised me?"

"That's no problem, you can just dress like a normal citizen – nobody's gonna be looking that closely!"

"And what if they are?"

"Dave, it's a pub! If anybody starts any trouble who are they gonna believe? You or the drunk that started the trouble in the first place?"

David looked earnestly into Rush's eyes, searching for any sign that this was a prank or a stunt or he had made a wager with Blocter or something. He found nothing but the pleas of a friend who was genuinely concerned for his well being. It was enough to stop him laughing and drop his arms from Rush's shoulders.

"You're really hell-bent on this aren't you?" he asked. Rush smirked and put his hands on his hips.

"I won't take 'no' for an answer, Dave."

The young men stared at each other, almost fighting on a playing field of subconscious trying to will the other into submission. Given the circumstances, this time it was Rush with the unfair advantage as it slowly began to dawn on David that no matter what Rush had suggested, it would be almost impossible for David not to agree. Rush had this way of making David feel like nothing was more important than the here and now – a direct opposition to everything he had ever been taught to believe. It was...refreshing.

Sighing, David surrendered.

"All right..." he said, rolling his eyes.

And then something rather unexpected happened.

Rush's movement was so fast that David missed it as he blinked, but one moment his friend was in front of him and the next...he felt his arms close around the back of his neck and the dark haired boy's head was resting on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Dave," Rush said as he held David in the small embrace. "Don't think I don't know this is kinda selfish on my part but...we'll have fun, trust me!"

As quickly as it had happened, Rush was back facing him, but with a huge smile written across his face David couldn't help but return. Suddenly Rush seemed filled with more energy than a thousand years worth of sleep could have given him.

Temporarily shaken by this little oddity, David quivered himself out of it.

"Right, well, I have a meeting to get back to..." he told Rush, completely derailed by the entire situation.

"Sure thing," Rush said, "I'm gonna take a shower and check on Irina. Meet you outside your room, like, eight or something?"

"Um...yes, sounds fine..."

"Great!" Rush sounded a little too excited, but then he always did. He took the opportunity to deposit his weapon where David had placed his before heading out of the opposite end of the arena. "See you then!"

"All right! See you later!"

He watched Rush leave before he turned and exited himself into the empty corridor, the door creaking shut behind him. He felt the need to pause for a moment to try and figure out what in the world had just occurred.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps echoing down the corridor. Heavy footsteps. Emmy Honeywell came careering around the corner in the biggest huff David had ever seen in his life. Spotting him, she stopped her menacing pace in front of him.

"What?" she exclaimed, callously.

"Um..." David remarked, caught off guard. "What, what?"

"Oh...Lord David," she sighed, "Do forgive me. Is everything all right?"

"What? Oh yes...fine."

There was a slight pause.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

There was another pause.

"All right then...I'm heading back to the meeting room."

"I'll be there shortly Emmy, just give me a few minutes."

There were more pauses than you can shake a stick at.

"Right." Emmy practically saluted him before storming off down the corridor.

David gave a huge sigh of relief before taking a more leisurely pace back to the meeting room, a single thought continuously rotating in his head.

_"What the bloody hell have I gotten myself into?"_

* * *


End file.
